Shane Gersich isn’t the only Washington Capital that will get their first taste of NHL action tonight. Meet Fi MacKinnon, a Capitals fan who flew into Washington D.C. all the way from Scotland to attend her first NHL game! She’ll be in the stands for Wednesday night’s Capitals game against the Rangers. NoVa Caps caught up with Fi to hear her story and you can also catch her tonight on TV as part of NBC Sports Washington’s Caps FaceOff at 7 p.m. 

MacKinnon’s love for the Capitals comes from enjoying watching Nicklas Backstrom.

“I just love watching him play, the way he plays it’s just fabulous… he’s so understated and causal. He’ll pull off an amazing pass through two sets of defenders and it’s not a big deal for him at all,” said MacKinnon.

This will be her second time in D.C. Her first time visiting came seven years ago but wasn’t during hockey season. When asked what she thought of America, she said she absolutely loves this country and that the first thing she noticed was how friendly the people there were. Even though she hadn’t set foot inside Capital One Arena just yet, she felt right at home watching the team’s morning skate at Kettler Capitals Icplex.

“Caps fans in particular are so kind, so generous, and so welcoming, it’s been wonderful,” said MacKinnon.

Keeping up with the Capitals on the other side of the Atlantic ocean isn’t the easiest. Over in Scotland, only one channel broadcasts NHL hockey games but the Caps aren’t always on. To solve that problem, MacKinnon got NHL.tv and was completely hooked. One of the biggest things she noted in our conversation was how excited she was to see the atmosphere of attending a live hockey game firsthand tonight.

“I love watching the games but you don’t really get the atmosphere when you’re watching on TV so just experiencing it with other fans. Just being with them and not on my sofa at 3:00 in the morning (in Scotland),” said MacKinnon.

Being from Scotland I had to ask her if her if she encountered the famous Loch Ness Monster. No spoilers, you can watch the full interview below:

After the interview, MacKinnon experienced one of the biggest staples of attending a practice or morning skate at Kettler: the chance to meet the players, get autographs, take pictures and wish them luck for the game at hand. Jay Beagle was impressed by her dedication of flying nearly 3,500 miles to watch her team play.

She also got signatures from the new defensemen, Michal Kempny and Jakub Jerabek.

Have fun at your first Caps game, Fi!

By Michael Marzzacco